Do the words psychic and integrity sound like a strange combination? They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Intuitive people should be able to integrate these concepts. I’d like to share my ideas on psychics and integrity, because I feel they should be blended.

Over the years, the word psychic developed a notorious reputation. Psychics have been stereotyped as scam artists, fortune-tellers, or dishonest. This is the main reason I do not use the word as a description of the service I provide.

In the 1970s and 80s, early in my teachings of spiritualism, I recognized the problem in how the public sees what I do. I decided to use intuitive instead of psychic to describe my service.

When I started giving readings to the public (as opposed to only within the church setting), my husband Charles, a reflexologist, and I set up a booth at a local flea market. It was a way of advertising to the community what we do.

My sign said Intuitive Readings. After several days, I wasn’t getting much attention with passers-by. Charles suggested I change the sign to Psychic Readings. He said no one really knew what intuitive meant, but would understand the word psychic.

So, I changed the sign.

That same afternoon, an older couple was talking to Charles about reflexology. He invited them into our booth. The wife saw me and my sign and said, “No! I won’t go in there. Not with that psychic in there.” This brought to my attention just how strongly people feel about psychics.

The sign was destroyed.

However, society is changing their perception of psychics. A Gallup Poll was conducted in 2005 for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Out of 1002 participants (18 years of age or older), 73% believed in some kind of paranormal event. Some of the paranormal beliefs were:

41% ESP (extra sensory perception)

37% Haunted houses

32% Ghosts

31% Telepathy

26% Clairvoyance

25% Astrology

21% Communication with the dead

20% Reincarnation

9% Channeling spirit entities

Today, because current entertainment, such as movies and television, includes psychic and paranormal events, the opportunities for recognition are much more common.

Sharing paranormal activities in the media has opened the profession to many people who were not aware of it before. More individuals recognize that they have psychic abilities. Many of them are making very nice careers in this field. Some are truly powerful psychics and mediums.

Although there are honest, gifted readers, the public unfortunately still generally recognizes the dishonest ones as the norm.

Some scam artists fraudulently present themselves as psychics. They continue to cloak themselves with sensational bits of information for their clients, without giving a substantive message. Other readers can recognize them immediately.

The unsuspecting public is still uninformed and unaware of the gray areas of readings. Many do not understand the dynamics of communicating with the spirits of deceased loved ones. In their naiveté and heartfelt pain, people often fall for deceptions.

Fortunately, there are many ways to determine whether psychics are ethical and operate with integrity. This is the main focus of Psychic Integrity.

A logical way to find someone reputable is to ask friends with an interest in psychics whom they would recommend. The best regulation of the psychic industry is word of mouth.

There are no definitive guidelines to measure abilities, no professional policies to refer to, and no established governing body to which one can report problem psychics. This makes it difficult for potential clients to know where to look and what to look for. The information in Psychic Integrity is offered to help you to recognize positive and ethical behavior in psychic readers and mediums. It is for anyone who works with the public in an intuitive manner or anyone who consults such a person. My hope is that this book becomes a guideline for psychics to study and a reference for those who are looking to find a reader of integrity.

With this book, I offer an honest and upright standard to reach for, which can be used by psychic and intuitive readers of all kinds. It is the textbook used by all of my intuitive, clairvoyant and medium unfoldment students. As part of the curriculum, it is required reading for certification in my courses and programs.

My greatest wish is for this book to be used as a definitive guide for all who are (or will be) reading for clients in any way – whether it be psychic, mediumship, tarot, numerology, psychometry, astrology, or channeling. I also present this as a way for potential clients to discern the appropriate reader for themselves, and to understand the study, training and practice psychics need in order to use the gift appropriately.

The entire work with psychic and spirit energy is to be considered a sacred matter. I believe it to be a tool of spirituality. This is not to be confused with religion. Although many religions embrace communication with spirit energies and the Higher Self, I don’t presume it to be necessary to be of any particular religious faith to use this spiritual tool.

However, since I see psychic work as a higher calling, and connected with Universal Creator, it is necessary to invite or ask for the highest vibrations and spirit beings possible to be associated with activities such as psychic readings. Readers should begin their work with a special protective affirmation, ritual or prayer. It keeps both the client and the reader protected.
(This is covered in chapter 6 “The Unfoldment Process”.)

To support my proposition of sacred work, let me present just a few examples of mediumship from holy texts. The first letter from Paul to the Corinthians in the New Testament (King James Version), 2:4: “and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power...” This plainly states that his speech was channeled information brought through him via spirit inspiration.

From the Old Testament (King James Version), in Exodus 7:10-12: “And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.” This example shows mediumship abilities to change one physical form into another.

King Saul visited the Witch of Endor. Even after Saul had put all the wizards and those who had familiar spirits out of the land, he saw the need of counsel with one of them. In the Old Testament (King James Version), in the Book of I Samuel, Chapter 28:7-10: “Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her.

“And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
“And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.”

In this story, Saul was worried about Israel being threatened by the Philistines. He asked her to bring up the spirit of the prophet Samuel, so he could receive guidance from him.

Jesus was perhaps the most well known and documented medium in the New Testament. He was able to heal the sick, create material manifestation (change water into wine), feed a crowd of people with only a few loaves and fishes, walk on water, and calm the raging sea. This is evidence of physical mediumship.

John 4: 16-19 in the New Testament (The New English Bible): “The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus replied, ‘Go home, call your husband and come back.’ She answered, ‘I have no husband.’ ‘You are right, said Jesus, ‘in saying that you have no husband, for, although you have had five husbands, the man with whom you are now living is not your husband; you told me the truth there.’ ‘Sir,’ she replied, ‘I can see you are a prophet.’

Most of us are already conscious of the spirit realm when we are asleep or in a quiet state of reverie. The term metaphysical means “beyond the physical”. Metaphysics recognizes that we are more than physical bodies. We also have mind and spirit. Metaphysics relates to all things, including the physical. It deals with a holistic approach to life and living, and what may be unrecognized while in the physical body.

When thinking in a metaphysical way, we are thinking outside the box of physical science and society. We allow the possibility of other things not yet considered to be proven by scientific methodology.

I prefer to walk in faith, not limited to what I must see, and have for most of my life. I never felt like I had to prove anything to anyone. When I receive information through Spirit, I don’t need outside proof. I ask you to occasionally accept unproven things. Don’t always look for proof. There are many things you know without someone telling you, without reading it in a book, or seeing it on television. Not all things of this world can be touched or seen physically. But you know them to be real, such as love for your child, patriotism, the way you feel when you smell newly mown grass. These things exist but cannot be seen physically.

There are many researchers and scientists who would love to be able to dissect the spiritual dimension to see what there is to see. No scientist can research your feelings and tell you, for instance, that you are lonely. It is something you just know. If you feel broken-hearted because your husband just passed away, no surgeon can operate on you, look at your heart and see the break. Yet, it is there.

Going one step further, being told by a psychic reader that you are lonely or heartbroken is one thing. That could be a spectacular part of the reading. But is the important thing that you are lonely? After all, you already knew that. Isn’t it more important to receive information to help you in your loneliness? Perhaps there is an underlying reason you are lonely. It could be self-esteem, or, that you are different from the others around you, so you feel isolated. Perhaps this can spur you into action. Does it help to tell you about your loneliness, of which you are already aware? Wouldn’t it be better to work toward a resolution of the situation?

This is where I feel spirituality becomes a useful tool. Don't we have a duty to always give the best and highest information possible to help our client? To dazzle someone is only good for the moment. Fireworks don’t last. They, of course, will get attention. After the client is paying attention, give them what their soul is looking for. For instance: We have soul-purpose in the world. Maybe the woman in question is lonely because she has steered off her path, and the soul needs to shake her up a little. Recognizing the spirit in others is your mission. Understand what her soul is trying to tell her, what she was not paying attention to. Then assist your client back to wholeness.